I know, you're asking yourself what is it with that
guy and pork? Barbecue, bacon, fried
tenderloin sandwiches - aside from chitterlings, I
can't think of a pork product I don't love.
It started very early. As kids, we fought over the
last piece of bacon, that crunchy salty crust on the
pork roast and the marrow bone from the ham steak.
My love for the pig continued to grow as my family
ate it's way across the country...ribs in St. Louis,
pulled pork sandwiches in the Carolinas, salty Virginia
ham and maple smoked bacon from New England.
My growing pork addiction took an unexpected
and somewhat disturbing turn in the early
1980's.
With promises of free beer and
tons of food, a fraternity brother conned me into
coming along to his hometown for the annual
Tipton County Pork Festival. They needed an
extra driver for one of the convertibles lined up to
carry the "Pork Queen" and her court. I braced
myself for the worst.
There was no need to worry. The queen and her
court turned out to be babes (no, not the talking
piglet kind), the beer was really free and I met the
woman of my dreams - the pork queen's mother.
She made the first pork tenderloin sandwich I was
ever to eat and it remains my gold standard to this
day. Carefully pounded out to just the right degree
of thinness, lovingly seasoned, lightly battered and
cooked one at a time in a vintage electric skilled
reserved just for tenderloins and the hand breaded
onion rings she always served with them. Toasted
buns, lettuce, pickle and mayonnaise, mmmmm.....
Enough with the ancient history, here is my monthly
food tip:
Schooner's on War
Memorial Drive in Peoria Heights, IL serves the largest
pork tenderloin sandwich I've ever seen. They refer
to it as a "King Tenderloin". We ordered two for the
three of us, but one would have been plenty. Thin,
nicely cooked and served with pickle, mayonnaise
and onions it brought back fond memories of college.
You should also order the hand-breaded mushrooms
and onion rings to complete the fried, fried and fried
trifecta. Oh! don't forget to check out the
morel "Mushroom Wall of Fame" while your there.
Have you ever seen a 24 ounce morel?
After lunch waddle out to your car and head back
down War Memorial Drive to Prospect and go a block
or two south to Trefzger's Bakery for a
tray of their fabulous pecan thumbprint cookies.
They're worth the trip to Peoria alone.
